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N.D.R.Crim.P. 27

Not legal advice. Verify against official sources before relying on this text in any legal matter.

Rule 27 Proof of Official Record

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Rule Text

A party may prove an official record , an entry in such a record, or the lack of a record or entry in the same manner as in a civil action.

Amendment history: (Adopted Oct. 17, 1972; amended Mar. 1, 2006.)

Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)

This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.

If you need to show the court an official record (or prove that a record doesn't exist), you follow the same steps used in civil cases. Criminal cases don't have their own separate process for this. Instead, they borrow the rules already set up for civil lawsuits.

This matters because it keeps things consistent. Whether someone is proving a government document exists, showing what's written in it, or proving that no such record can be found, the method stays the same no matter what type of case is being handled. Lawyers and parties can rely on the established civil procedure rules to know exactly what steps to take and what proof is needed.

Committee Notes

Rule 27 was amended, effective March 1, 2006.

Rule 27 follows Fed.R.Crim.P. 27. Rule 27 incorporates by reference N.D.R.Civ.P. 44, in which there is provided a simple and uniform method of proving the authenticity of public records, both domestic and foreign, and entry or lack of entry in a record. Accordingly, decisions on proof of official records in civil cases are authoritative in criminal cases.

It should be emphasized that Rule 27 is not the exclusive means of proving official records or lack of entry in a record. N.D.R.Civ.P. 44(c) (which Rule 27 incorporates by reference) provides that such proof may be made "by any other method authorized by law." Thus the proof of the lack of a record under Rule 27 would be in accordance with the provisions of Rule 44(b).

Rule 27 was amended, effective March 1, 2006, in response to the December 1, 2002, revision of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The language and organization of the rule were changed to make the rule more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules.

SOURCES: Joint Procedure Committee Minutes of January 27-28, 2005, page 22; October 17-20, 1972, pages 30-32; December 11-12, 1968, page 15; Fed.R.Crim.P. 27.

STATUTES AFFECTED:

CONSIDERED: N.D.C.C. ch. 31-09.

CROSS REFERENCE: N.D.R.Civ.P. 44 (Proof of Official Record); N.D.R.Civ.P. 44.1 (Determination of Foreign Law).

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